Sightlines · how to watch
How to watch Megamind
2010 · Tom McGrath · Megamind on Sightlines
5 things to watch and listen for on a first viewing, without spoilers, and 4 more once you have seen it. Each names something you can see or hear, the pattern it belongs to, and what noticing it gives you. How these keys work.
On a first viewing
Notice how blue and gold light divide the city. (light)
Megamind's lair stays cold and shadowed while Metro City glows warm and high-key.
Payoff: The color scheme sets up two worlds before the plot introduces them.
Watch the low angles and lens flares on Metro Man. (camera)
The film shoots Metro Man's entrance like Donner's Superman, with low angles and lens flares.
Payoff: The heroic framing, set against a showman's ego, is where the comedy lives.
Listen for the rock song each time Megamind arrives. (sound)
AC/DC, Michael Jackson, and others play because Megamind cues them himself, not as background score.
Payoff: He is directing his own soundtrack, which tells you he's directing his own image.
Listen for Megamind's mispronounced words, like 'Metrocity.' (performance)
Ferrell keeps the misstressing consistent across the film rather than treating it as a one-off gag.
Payoff: The mistakes mark him as self-taught, learning villainy from books instead of a life.
Watch how Megamind stages his entrances with pyrotechnics and music. (staging)
Every appearance is built like a stage show, complete with cued lighting and a robotic backup ensemble.
Payoff: Villainy here is a performance he designed, playing to an audience that stopped watching.
The 4 rewatch keys open on this page when you choose "Seen it?".
Carry this in: Watch the color: a cold blue lair, a warm gold city. Notice which character each palette surrounds.